


Reprieve Granted

by QueenThayet



Series: Swanboxed [2]
Category: Swan Song - Fandom, Unboxed - Amy Crook
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Box!Matt, Crossover, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Key!Patrick, M/M, Unboxed AU, and then make up, they fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 03:45:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17072879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenThayet/pseuds/QueenThayet
Summary: Patrick Reed and Matt Usher are the hit duo leading the rock band Swan. They're also soulmates, but no one is supposed to know. This is part of a longer Unboxed soulmates AU/Crossover. In this fic, they fight, meet some helpful people, and make up (instead of breaking up).





	Reprieve Granted

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swtalmnd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swtalmnd/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Swan Song (Part 3)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15105194) by [earlgreytea68](https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreytea68/pseuds/earlgreytea68). 



> Thank you as always to Amy and EGT for reading and commenting on the draft of this, and to both of them for letting me play with their wonderful characters in their delightful worlds.

“I can tell you’re not happy, why won’t you just tell me what’s wrong?” Matt shouted at Patrick. 

Patrick shuttered as he felt Matt’s frustration and confusion punch through their bond. 

“I did tell you! I don’t want to keep hiding. I don’t want to be a secret! You’re my soulmate! Do you know how many people actually get to meet their soulmate, Matthew? I want to wear our ring!”

“It’s just for a little while,” Matt pled, tight-lipped. “One more album and Brie said we’ll be established enough that the label won’t be able to stop us.” 

“The label isn’t allowed to stop us now. You know that there are legal protections for soulmates. They can’t force us to hide without our cooperation. And I’m tired of cooperating! And worse, I don’t know why you’re fine with it!” Patrick shouted as he stomped out of their hotel room. 

Patrick stalked outside, wiping the tears from his eyes before they could spill down his cheeks. He felt Matt prodding their bond. It felt raw, like an exposed nerve. Patrick slammed down his defenses as hard as he could. He wanted to be alone. No, he wanted to be together, for real, with Matt. But if he couldn’t have that, he wanted to be as alone as he felt at that moment. This wasn’t what a soulbond was supposed to feel like, was it? His parents hadn’t been soulmates. He didn’t really know anyone very well who was with their soulmate. His maternal grandparents had been soulmates, but they had both passed away when he was a kid. He didn’t have the current statistics, but he knew it was fairly rare to find your box or key. There were just too many people in the world. It was a heck of a lot easier to find someone you were generally compatible with that you could choose to spend your life with. But he and Matt had beaten those odds and found each other, and yet somehow it still wasn't enough. 

Patrick walked for a while, lost in thought. He looked up once his mind had stopped racing and realized that he had no idea where he was. He wasn’t even sure what city he was in. They were on their Charm Offensive tour in Europe and everything had been a blur. He looked around and saw street signs in English. So that was a good sign, probably in the UK. Lowden maybe? He reached in his back pocket for his phone, and realized that he had stomped out of the hotel room without it. 

Patrick sighed and resigned himself to asking for directions. He wasn’t sure if it was better to be recognized or not at this point. He took a deep breath and walked toward the small, unassuming shop called “Fields & Sons Jewellers” that appeared to be open. 

A small man with dark hair looked up as Patrick walked in the door. “Hi, how can I help you?”

“Um,” Patrick said, “where am I?”

“You’re at Fields & Sons Jewellers. Are you okay?”

“Not really. I’m totally lost. I had a fight with my, um—and I left my phone behind and I don't really know where I am or how to get back to my hotel.” 

“Well come sit down and have a cup of tea and we’ll sort you out.” The man stepped out from behind the counter and motioned to a set of chairs set off to the side. Once Patrick had taken a seat, he walked purposefully to the back of the shop and returned a few moments later with a tray of cookies and two mugs. 

“I’ve put the kettle on, would you like a biscuit while we wait? I’m Noah Fields, by the way.” 

“I’m Patrick Reed,” Patrick replied on autopilot.

“Hmm, your name sounds familiar, but you’re obviously not a local. Do you know Brandon or Eaton by any chance?”

“Um no, I’m just in town for a show. Who are Brandon and Eaton?”

“Oh, they’re my box and my key; there’s the kettle.” Noah jumped up as the kettle began to whistle. 

“You have a box and a key?” Patrick asked once Noah came back with a steaming teapot. 

“Wow, I guess you really aren’t from around here,” Noah laughed. “Yeah, we’re a trio. Eaton and I are boxes and Brandon’s a double key. We’re really lucky we all found each other.” 

“Isn’t that really hard? Trying to deal with two people instead of just one?” Patrick said, imagining himself trying to convince two Matts of anything. 

“Maybe a little, but the soulbond helps. I can feel what they are feeling sometimes, so it helps me understand them, and them to understand me. And honestly, we know that we love each other, we know that we’re committed. So even if we disagree about something, I’m never worried that it’s going to split us up. I know we’re on the same team,” Noah explained before taking a sip of his tea. 

“It seems like feeling each others feelings just makes everything worse,” Patrick mumbled morosely into his tea. 

“Wait, are you bonded?” Noah asked, obviously surprised. “You’re not wearing a ring!”

Patrick fished the chain that used to hold his key, and now held his ring, out from under his shirt. Noah’s eyes widened. 

“Why aren’t you wearing it?” 

“We’re not supposed to. Not allowed to. That was one of the things we were fighting about today,” Patrick said miserably. Noah gasped, trying to think of how to respond to the idea of not being _allowed_ to wear his soulmate ring. 

“Noah, love, are you okay?” A tall black man strode in from the back of the shop and looked sharply at Patrick. 

“I’m fine, I was just surprised. Thank you for coming to check on me,” Noah responded, reaching out for the man’s hand. “Patrick, this is Brandon Sedgewick, our key. Brandon, this is Patrick Reed. He got himself a little lost after a domestic.” 

“Holy shit, you’re Patrick Reed.” Brendon said as he really looked Patrick over. 

“That’s what I said,” Noah started saying bemusedly. 

Patrick sighed and swore softly to himself. He kind of wished he hadn’t started pouring out his heart to Noah once he realized that Noah didn’t recognize him. 

“Noah, do you know who this is?” Brendon asked urgently. 

“Yes, Patrick Reed. I said that. You said that. We’ve established that this is Patrick Reed,” Noah said, starting to get annoyed. 

“Patrick Reed, of _Swan_.” Brendon said, nodding his head for emphasis. 

“Swan? Oh oh, the band Swan, right.” Noah snapped his fingers. “That’s why I recognized your name.” 

“I should go, please don’t tell anyone about…” Patrick started to stand up awkwardly, motioning toward his chest where his ring was back under his shirt. 

“No no, it’s fine, please stay,” Noah said, “We won’t tell anyone. We still have to get you back to your hotel. And it sounds like maybe you could use someone to talk to.” 

Patrick sat back down slowly

“Okay good, so you found your soulmate, you’ve unlocked, but you can’t wear your rings because you’re in a band? And you just had a fight with your soulmate, which is how you ended up here? Is that right?”

“Yeah,” Patrick said, miserably. “We unlocked years ago and he keeps saying that it shouldn’t matter that we can’t wear our rings, that no one knows about us, but it does matter to me. It hurts.” 

“Oh Patrick, I can’t imagine how painful that must be, for both of you. How does he feel about it?” Noah asked. 

“He says he’s fine with it, that it’s private.” 

“Yes, but how does he _feel_? Through your bond?”

“I… don’t know? He says that he can tell I’m unhappy sometimes, and asks why, and I keep telling him, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. It’s harder for me to feel him unless he wants me to though. Like after I left he kept poking at our bond, but I wanted to be alone so I closed him out.” 

Noah and Brendon exchanged a worried look. 

“Patrick, you can’t just cut off your bond to each other when you’re upset. You need to use your bond to help you strengthen your relationship. It’s not meant to be used as a punishment. Your soulbond helps you connect to each other and trust each other on a deeper level, it makes you part of each other,” Brendon said slowly. 

“He started cutting me out first,” Patrick protested, wincing at how childish it sounded out loud. 

Noah and Brendon exchanged another look. 

“You’re so young,” Noah said, shaking his head. “You said you unlocked years ago, how old were you?”

“We were eighteen.” 

“Did you have any relationship experience before you unlocked?” 

“Not really, not long term, obviously not an adult relationship.” Patrick admitted. 

“Okay, well, I think the two of you have a lot of talking and listening you need to do. And you need to work on strengthening your soulbond. Stop cutting each other off. Use it to try to understand the other better. And let him feel how much it hurts you to not wear your rings. I’ve never seen anyone go that long with them off their finger. It’s not the same, having it on a chain. I bet it hurts him too, he’s just not letting you feel it,” Noah said as he finished his tea.

“Thank you, I’ll try,” Patrick said. 

“Here’s my card, if you want to call or email, it seems like you two might need some soulmate role models in your life,” Noah said, handing over a slip of cardstock. 

“Thank you,” Patrick said again, overwhelmed with gratitude. 

“Now let’s get you a cab and get you back to your hotel, and your box,” Brendon said, winking as he pulled out his phone. “Where are you staying?”

“I… uh, I don’t remember,” Patrick admitted. 

“Can we call your box, or someone else from the band to find out?” Brandon asked. 

“I don’t… actually remember anyone’s European cell phone numbers,” Patrick said, blushing. 

“You really did not have a plan, did you,” Noah said, looking Patrick over. 

“No, I was just so angry, I had to get out of there,” Patrick said. “Once I had calmed down enough to know I was lost, I was already, well, lost.” 

“Lucky for you, I’m a Finder, so I should be able to Find your phone and identify your hotel,” Noah grinned. “Give me your hand and think about your phone and wanting it back.”

Patrick put his hand in Noah’s and did as directed. Noah’s eyes looked blank and distracted for a moment while his magic Found Patrick’s phone, via its connection to Patrick. 

“Aha, there we go. It misses you. It’s at the Kensington Hilton,” Noah said with an air of satisfaction. 

“If we call you a cab, do you think you’ll be able to get back to your room on your own,” Brandon teased. 

“Yeah, thank you so much, and for the tea, and the advice, and everything. Can I thank you with tickets for our show tomorrow night?” Patrick asked. 

Brandon didn’t hesitate before saying “Yes!” excitedly. Noah paused for a second and then said “Eaton would totally flip.” 

“Awesome,” Patrick handed back Noah’s card, “if you can just put Brandon and Eaton’s full names on here too I’ll give security your names. Thank you so much again.” 

“No problem,” Noah said as he passed the card back to Patrick. “We look forward to seeing you and meeting the rest of your band.” 

“Looks like your cab is here,” Brandon said when his phone pinged. 

“Thank you!” Patrick said again, buoyed with hope as he left the small jewellery store and got into the waiting cab. 

He thought about the advice that Noah and Brandon had given him, and their obvious horror at his not wearing his ring. He wasn’t overreacting. Hiding was hurting him, and probably hurting Matt too. And blocking each other off was definitely hurting them. He needed to talk to Matt and he needed to make sure Matt knew how he felt. 

***  
Patrick paused a second outside the door to their suite before using the replacement key the front desk had given him to unlock the door. 

Matt looked up from where he’d been sitting at the piano. He looked like he’d been crying. 

“Trick, oh my god, where were you, I was so worried,” he said as he jumped up to embrace Patrick. 

“I went for a walk and got myself lost,” Patrick admitted. 

“You left your phone and wallet and everything,” Matt said into the side of Patrick’s neck, not letting him go. 

“I know darling, I realized that eventually.” 

“I tried to reach you and you cut me off,” Matt said miserably. 

“I know, I’m so sorry,” Patrick responded, kissing Matt’s head. “We need to talk about that. When I was lost I met someone.” 

“What?” Matt sprang back, aghast. Patrick felt Matt’s horror roll through him like a cold wave.

“No, no, no, not like that, I could never, no, you’re my _soulmate_ Matthew!” Patrick pulled Matt back against him, hugging him tightly, trying to push his love out through their bond. “I met someone who has two soulmates. Well and I met one of his soulmates. They gave me some really good advice. And I invited them to the concert tomorrow.” 

“What?”

“We can’t keep hurting ourselves by hiding our relationship. When Noah found out we didn’t wear our rings he was so upset his key felt it from the other room and came in to check on him. We can’t keep shutting each other out when we’re upset. It’s hurting me and it’s hurting _us_. I _love_ you, Matthew Usher. I. Love. You. You are my soulmate. You are my box and I am your key and we belong together.” 

Patrick took his soulmate ring off the chain around his neck and slid it onto his finger. 

Matt pulled his own soulmate ring out of his pocket and slid it onto his finger as well. Immediately, Patrick felt their bond level out a bit and he pulled Matt closer for a kiss. 

“Feel how much better that is,” Patrick said after kissing Matt softly. 

“Yes…” Matt said wistfully. 

“Come back to me, my darling.”

“Oh, Trick,” Matt sobbed, collapsing into Patrick’s arms. Patrick kissed him and held him and helped him over to the bed.

“It’s okay, I’m here, I’ve got you,” Patrick murmured into Matt’s skin as he undressed him. 

“Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me,” Matt whimpered as he let himself be manhandled. 

“Never. I’d never leave you. You’re mine. You’re my Matthew. I will never leave you,” Patrick promised in between kisses. He leaned back long enough to strip his own clothes off and then carefully laid himself on top of Matt, holding him tight against him, as if they could merge into one being. He opened himself to Matt as much as he could and felt his warring emotions, panic and worry being replaced by affection and trust. Patrick held Matt as he focused on strengthening their bond, and reassuring Matt that he was there. 

Once Matt felt steadier, Patrick began kissing his way down Matt’s body, trying to suffuse their bond with his adoration and ground himself in his lover’s body. Matt was half hard for him by the time Patrick reached his cock. Matt started as Patrick took the head into his mouth. Patrick began stroking down the length of his body, trying to gentle him as he tenderly sucked Matt to full hardness. Matt began to moan and babble his pleasure, losing himself in the warmth of Patrick’s mouth and hands. As much as Patrick enjoyed Matt’s physical reactions, he drank in the feelings Matt was projecting through their bond. He hadn’t realized how much they had been shutting each other out, even when having sex. But now that Matt was back in his head, Patrick couldn’t believe they’d ever given this up. 

Patrick brought Matt to the edge of climax and then back again, enjoying Matt’s desperation as he ramped him up and brought him back down. Patrick used every trick he had up his sleeve, which included years of experience as Matt’s lover combined with the immediate sensory and emotional feedback through their bond. He wanted Matt to be absolutely out of his head with pleasure. 

After the third aborted orgasm, Matt was sobbing and begging beautifully. Patrick pulled off to admire the gorgeous mess of a man beneath him.

“Please, please, Trick, unlock me, I need you inside me, please, please,” Matt whimpered

Patrick leaned down to kiss Matt thoroughly. “Of course, darling,” he murmured as he groped around on the bedside table for the lube. Successful, he moved back down Matt’s body and pushed two slick fingers into him. 

“Oh god yes, right there,” Matt moaned. Patrick briefly stretched Matt and then slicked himself before pressing into Matt’s waiting keyhole. Matt moaned again, and pressed back wantonly, trying to take Patrick in deeper. Patrick leaned over him, interlacing their fingers and pressing Matt’s hands back against the bed as he began to thrust. Patrick’s own climax was overshadowed by the waves of pleasure and love coming from Matt through their bond. Patrick sent back his own love and reverence and yearning for his beautiful, perfect box. 

Once they had both come, Patrick cleaned them up and curled up around Matt in the large hotel bed. He loved being able to take Matt completely out of his head. He loved that Matt trusted him enough to let him do that. He patiently waited and dozed as Matt’s brain slowly came back online. They needed to have a conversation, but Patrick wanted to have it in the afterglow of their strengthened bond. 

“I’m not taking my ring off anymore,” Patrick said finally. 

“Mmm, wha?” Matt asked sleepily, nuzzling into Patrick’s neck. 

“I’m not going to stop wearing my ring. I won’t tell you what to do, but I hope that you will want to keep wearing yours also,” Patrick responded slowly, “It feels so much better wearing our rings.” 

“Mmm, is nice,” Matt agreed. 

“We deserve to have this. We are _soulmates_! So many people are never lucky enough to meet their soulmate, and we found each other at eighteen. I can’t hide that any more.” 

“But the label…” Matt said as he started processing the conversation. Patrick felt a stab of dismay roll through their bond. Instead of pushing it away, though, he held tight to it, and sent his own assurance back to Matt. 

“It’s completely unreasonable for the label to tell us to not wear our rings,” Patrick started. 

“They—I was worried no one would be interested. They said we could be more marketable this way,” Matt said guiltily. 

“I know, and I agreed to it. This isn’t your fault, and it’s not fair of me to try to make it your fault. But I’m telling you what I want now, and that I’m not willing to take my ring off again. Swan is a huge success, so I don’t think you or the label need to worry about that anymore. We don’t have to make a big deal of it, but I’m going to wear my ring from now on.”

“Okay,” Matt agreed. Patrick could feel the relief flooding out of Matt. Noah and Brandon had been right, their facade had been hurting Matt as well. 

“Good,” Patrick said, letting Matt feel his own relief and contentment. 

***  
The next evening as they did their sound check, Anna gave them both a raised eyebrow when she noticed they were wearing their rings, but didn’t say anything. 

Their show that evening was better and more energetic than they had been in weeks, with Anna and David and the audience feeding off of the flirtatious energy flying between Matt and Patrick. Patrick sang “Trick Up Your Sleeve” as an affectionate tease, rather than an angry rant, and “Call Your Bluff” felt more playful and tongue-in-cheek instead of the snippy, self-righteous screed that Matt had written in response. 

Patrick felt gleefully exhausted by the time the concert was over, and Matt was bouncing with high spirits, amped up in the best way. Patrick couldn’t wait until he could drag Matt off stage and ravish him. 

“We’re not done yet, Mattrick,” Anna warned as she pointed to the group of people with VIP lanyards waiting for them. Patrick looked toward the people and grinned as he spotted Brandon and Noah (and he assumed Eaton). Matt immediately grinned and went to meet his adoring public.

“Matt, over here, these are the guys I wanted you to meet!” Patrick said as he tried to pull Matt over to the box and key who had come to his rescue the previous day. 

“Hi, hi! Thank you for coming! No you’re awesome!” Matt said completely genuinely as he reached out to shake hands with all the fans who wanted to greet him. 

“Over here,” Patrick tugged. “Noah, Brandon, this is Matt.” 

“Hi, it’s great to meet you, I’m Matt Usher!” 

“Hi, I’m Noah Fields and this is our key Brandon and our box Eaton,” Noah said politely. Eaton looked like he might explode from excitement and Brandon was grinning broadly. 

“Oh my god, you’re Swan, you’re Matt Usher, I can’t believe it,” Eaton said all in one breath. 

“And you’re the kind people who got Patrick back to me yesterday, so thank you!” Matt said, oozing charm. 

“It was our pleasure,” Noah said, placing a calming arm around Eaton, who looked like he might start jumping up and down. 

“Oh, hey, let me get you some tour swag!” Matt said excitedly, grabbing Eaton’s hand and pulling him away from the crowd and back toward their dressing room. Noah and Brandon looked at Patrick. Patrick shrugged and motioned for them to follow Matt and Eaton. 

“You have no idea how excited I was when Noah and Brandon told me that Patrick Reed came into the store yesterday. And then that we were got to go to the concert tonight! I love you guys so much; Banter & Badinage changed my _life_ ; ‘Luck’ is like, my anthem,” Eaton babbled. 

“So I see you’re wearing your rings,” Noah said, pulling Patrick’s attention back. 

“Yeah, I told him I wasn’t taking mine off anymore. He decided to wear his too,” Patrick smiled. He didn’t think he’d actually said that Matt was his box, but it was probably obvious to anyone who knew he had a soulmate. Who else could it be other than Matt? 

“Are you worried about getting in trouble?” Noah asked. 

“No. If the label wants to make a fuss, well, we’re almost done with this tour and if they drop us we’ll figure out what we want to do next. But I’m kind of hoping that no one will notice during the rest of the tour. Matt’s got a minor Luck talent, so sometimes little things like that where it could fall one way or the other work out in our favor.” 

“Suddenly Swan’s meteoric rise makes a little more sense,” Brandon said, snapping his fingers. 

“I mean, it wouldn’t have worked if we weren’t good, and if Matt hadn’t put in all the work to make us a band and book us gigs. But it may have helped us get noticed by the right people. He always says that leading him to me was the best thing his Luck could ever do.” Patrick blushed as he recalled the night he and Matt met. 

“Yeah, there isn’t anything luckier than that,” Noah looked up at Brandon with a soft smile. 

They followed Eaton and Matt into Matt and Patrick’s dressing room, where Matt was showing Eaton different tour mementos and piling them into his arms. Matt looked like he was glowing after the concert and now on the receiving end of Eaton’s worshipful puppy looks. 

“I can’t believe how nice you are, oh my gosh,” Eaton gushed. 

“That’s just because he’s on a post-concert high,” Patrick teased. 

“I am not, I’m always like this,” Matt protested. 

“It’s adorable that after all this time you still don't know how you get after concerts. You’re basically impaired. I wouldn’t let you drive or get a tattoo or sign a contract in this condition,” Patrick said fondly. 

“Nonsense,” Matt retorted, turning back toward his task of supplying Eaton with as much tour swag as his arms could carry. 

Patrick was once again struck with just how much he loved Matt. Matt looked back up and grinned guilelessly at Patrick, just happy and full of joy, as he felt the surge of Patrick’s love through their bond. And just like that, Patrick couldn’t wait to get Matt alone and show him again just how much he loved him. 

Brandon seemed to notice the change in Patrick’s demeanor because almost as soon as he had the thought, Brandon started trying to herd his boxes out the door. 

“Thank you so much for inviting us to the concert, and thank you for all this stuff. It’s been really great to meet you guys, and we’ll keep in touch, okay?” Brandon said as he gently tried to steer Eaton away from Matt. 

Matt looked like he was going to protest until he looked up at Patrick. Whatever he read in Patrick’s expression convinced him otherwise, so instead he waved and said, “Thank you for helping Patrick! You guys are awesome!” 

Patrick barely waited for the door to click shut before he pounced.


End file.
